10 votes

The anti–rock star: Leonard Cohen’s battle against shameless male egoism

3 comments

  1. stellar_plexus
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    For all his talents and the charismatic way he came to fill the niche he made for himself, living as he did, when he did, I always think of him as a poet who happened to find success expressing...

    For all his talents and the charismatic way he came to fill the niche he made for himself, living as he did, when he did, I always think of him as a poet who happened to find success expressing his poetry with music.

    Some lines of his lyrics are a pleasure to read as standalone poetry, which of course is why there’s a lot of overlap between his songs and books. And some of his poems strike a chord with deceptive simplicity:

    Undertow

    I set out one night
    When the tide was low
    There were signs in the sky
    But I did not know
    I'd be caught in the grip
    Of the undertow
    Ditched on a beach
    Where the sea hates to go
    With a child in my arms
    And a chill in my soul
    And my heart the shape
    Of a begging bowl

    9 votes
  2. redbearsam
    Link
    Boy oh boy to have been there at Glasto in 2008 for the Hallelujah finalé.

    Boy oh boy to have been there at Glasto in 2008 for the Hallelujah finalé.

    1 vote